Lock



Oct. 28, 1941. E. N. KENNEDY LOCK Filed Nov. 17, 1938 4 Sheets-Shed 1 Inverzkr I Zrnasi" i orberilf'nneafg,

Oct. 28, 1941. E. N. KENNEDY LOCK Filed Nov. 17, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 2a, Z h ven'Z-or Ernest VonerZ Kennedy,

191350771 G gs Oct. 28; 1941. E N. KENNEDY 2,260,674

LOCK

Filed NOV. 17, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 4. 7 4 4W 2 f a? 4/ 22 j WJJ. 1;:67

J72 1/672 532'. Z'rnesf M76671; A2702 eafy,

Patented Oct. 28, 1941 I Ernest Norbert Kennedy; Piccadillyfllondon,

England v I Application November 17, 1938, No. 241,075 I In GreatBritain November 19,1937- This invention relates to looks and its'objectis to provide an improved construction whereby unauthorized operation ofthe lock may be rendered extremely diflicult, a characteristic of theconstruction being the'small number of working parts and the cheapnesswith which they can be manufactured and assembled in comparison withknown mechanisms producing comparable results.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby a lock maybe altered readily so that it may be operated by any one of a number ofkeys and the arrangement may be such that the mechanism of the lock maybe set by means of a key andthereafter can be unlocked only by the useof that particular key.

According to the present invention a lock is provided witha lockingmember, rotatable about the same axis as the key of the lock, formedwith a wall, parts' of which are at progressively decreasing distancesfrom said axis, and with one of which parts a key ward may engage aftersaid key has been turned through a predetermined angle, which part andwhich angle vary according to'the length of saidward, said rotary memberremaining stationary while the key is turned through said predeterminedangle, and thereafter turning as one with the key, by which it is thusbrought to the .unlocked position. The wall may be a surface inclined toa-radius from said axis, a curved surface of decreasing radius, a seriesof smaller surfaces corresponding with said curved surface, or a seriesof steps corresponding with said inclined surface or with said curvedsurface. The rotary locking member may be formed'with an aperture toreceive the key, said aperture being bounded, at least'in part, by saidwall.

Preferably the rotary locking member is circular and has at itsperiphery one or more notches arranged to receive a corresponding tongueor tongues on the bolt or bolts of the lock. If desired a plurality ofcoaxially arranged rotary locking membersv may be employed.

The rotary locking member may be formed of at least two relativelyrotatable parts, e. g. an inner part with which a key ward may engage asabove set forth and an outer part in the periphery of which is or areformed the notch or notches to receive "the' tongue or tongues on thebolt or. bolts.

The arrangement'of the parts should be such that when being turned bythe key in the operation of looking or unlocking the outer part of therotarylocking member is not subjected to any frictional or other forcetending to displace it angularly relatively to the inner part.

The invention willnow be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings wherein Figure l is a front elevation of one form of lock;Figure 2 is'across-section on the line 2-2, Figure 1; Figure 2A is across sectional view along the line 2A--2A, Figure 1. Figures 3 and 4'are front elevations of the interior mechanism of the lock shown in two;differentpositions; Figure 5 is a fragmentary section on the line 5-5,Figure 3; Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-section of the looking elements,onthe line 6-6, Figure 3; Figures '7, 8, 9 and 1 0 are face views andFigures 11, 12, 13 and 14 are corresponding side views, respectively, ofdetails of, the mechanism; and Figures 15 and 16 are face viewscorresponding with Figure 8 but showing modifications thereof. V Thelatch mechanism forming part of the improved lock shown in Figures 1 to4 comprises a hasp a which is hinged to. a-base plate I) in the usual:manner and is influenced by a spring (not shown) so that it tends toturn away from the lock, andwhich is formed with two oppositely facinghooks cc, formed with notches d, Figure 2, in which mayengage channelsection latch members 7'7 movable, against the action of springs kk, bythe engagement of parts 00 on knobs hh with offset tongues nn' on saidlatch members 57', the latter being pivotal, aboutpins gg which areintegral with the knobs hh and are pivotal in the front and backiportions 6 and f of the lock body or casing According .to the presentinvention the locking of the latch members 1'7 in their position ofengagement is effected by the mechanism now to'be described.' I

. 2|, Figures 6, land 11, is a rotary member or distance piece," theaxial depth of which is varied according to the number of rotary lockingmembers to be employed. This distance piece 2| is formed with a key hole22 and with a peripheral flange 23 formed with'notches 24, 24 in whichthe tongues 1m on the latch members 7'7 may engage, and with anupstanding lug. 25, which coacts with a lug 26 on the front portion e ofthe lock body to limit rotation,-the' upper end of the distance piece'2l fitting into a cylindrical recess within a boss 21 projectingforwardly from the front portion-e of the lock body and thus providing abearing for said rotary distance piece 2|. It is to be observedthat thegeneralplane of the keyhole 22 is diametral, but that it issubstantially semicylindrical at the centre; this ensures that acorrespondingly formed key 28, Figure 6, must always be inserted withthe concave side of its semicylindrical central rib 29, towards theleft, Figures 1, 2 and 4, hence such a key may have a ward 30 of greaterradial length on one side of said rib and a ward 3| of shorter radiallength on the other side thereof, thus enabling a large range of keys tobe used, alternatively, with the same lock, as explained hereinafter.

32, Figures 6, 10 and 14, is an annulus of L- section, thecircumferential flange portion of which is slit and offset in the axialdirection to present spring fingers 33 Figs. 10 and 14, which as shownin the latter figure are offset upwardly; while the barrel portion ofsaid annulus is notched in the axial direction, as at 34 to receivecorresponding lugs 35 which project radially from a disc 36, Figures 6,8 and 12; further said barrel portion extends through a central aperturein a ring 31, Figures 6, 9 and 13, which is formed with notches 38, 38,corresponding with the notches 24, 24, in the flange 23 of the rotarydistance piece 2|, and for a like purpose. The diameter of the ring 31is slightly less than that of the flange 23 of the distance piece 2| sothat the tongues 1m of the latch members 7'7 do not bear against theperiphery of said ring, thus avoiding friction. To centralize theelements of the locking mechanism the back portion f of the body orcasing of the lock is pressed concentrically topresent a rib '39, Figure6, outside which the annulus 32 is rotatable and inside which the key 28may be rotated, the free end of said key having projections 40, 40 whichmay move in a recess 4|, while the corresponding end of itssemi-cylindrical rib receives, and turns about, a central projection 46.

From Fig. 6 it will be observed that as the elements 2|, 33, 3'|,'and 32are disposed in axial alignment and the pressure of spring fingers 33acts upwardly, they force ring 31 upwardly against lugs 35 of disc 36,the distance piece 2| serving as an abutment to prevent upward movementof disc 36. As lugs 35 of disc 36 engage in notches 34 of the barrelportion of annulus 32, it follows that when disc 36 is turned by key 23,annulus 32 must turn as one therewith, while the frictional engagementof spring fingers 33 of the circumferential flange portion of annulus 32with the surface of ring 31 tends to cause said ring to turn as one withannulus 32 and disc 36.

The disc 36 Figs. 6, 8, l and 16 is formed with an aperture 42 toreceive the key 28 and this aperture 42 is bounded, in part, by twosurfaces 43, 43, inclined to radii from the axis of the disc 33 with oneof which the operative ward of the key 28 may engage after said key hasbeen turned through a predetermined angle, according to the length ofsaid ward, the disc 36, annulus 32 and ring 31 remaining stationary, butthe distance piece 2| rotating, while said key is turned through saidpredetermined angle, and thereafter turning as one with said key, bywhich said parts are thus brought to the unlocked position shown inFigure 4, where the tongues 1m on the latch members if may enter thenotches 24, 24 in the peripheral flange 23 of the distance piece 2|, andthe notches 38, 38 of the ring 31, tongues nn extending substantiallyfrom the front portion e of the lock body or casing to the back portionf thereof, 1. e, their dimension in that direction corresponds with thatof latch members jyflas shown in Fig. 2A. This engagement of the tongues1m in the notches 24, 24 prevents the key from being turnedwhile thelatch members 921 are in the unlatched" position thus obviatingaccidental angular displacement of the disc 36 relatively to the ring31.

Figures 15 and 16 show similar discs 36, that shown in Figure 15 beingbounded, in part, by two curved surfaces 44, 44 of decreasing radius andthat shown in Figure 16 by two corresponding stepped surfaces 45, 45.Similarly the surfaces 43 shown in Figure 8 may be stepped. The aperture42 is also bounded, in part, by surfaces 46, 46, one of which lies on,and the other parallel with, a diameter, and which may be engaged by theward or wards of a key to turn the parts to bring the notches 24, 24 and38, 38 to such positions that the tongues m1. of the latch members :ia'cannot engage therein, thus locking the lock. The locking and unlockingare effected by turning the key through almost 360, the movement beinglimited, in either direction, by the lugs 25 and 26.

It is to be understood that if a series of keys are to be employed whichhave a ward projecting from one side only, instead of a disc 36 a platehaving only a single straight, curved or stepped surface may be used.

It will be appreciated that although the key 28 is turned through nearly360 to effect the looking or unlocking, the parts 32, 36 and 31 areturned to a less extent according to the radial length of the operativeward of said key, for during the unlocking movement there is an idlemovement of the key through a predetermined angle until the end of theoperative ward engages the surface 43, this angle increasing as theradial length of the ward decreases, hence by the provision of a seriesof keys with wards of progressively decreasing radial length varioussettings of the lock mechanism can be obtained by bringing the parts tothe unlocked position by means of the key previously used, restrictingthe ring 31 against rotation, turning the key to the locked position,withdrawing the key and inserting another, which is then turned back tothe unlocked position, and then releasing the ring 31, which will thusbe left in the unlocked position and the angular position of the disc 36relatively to the notches 24, 24 and 38, 38 will have been re-set sothat the lock can be operated only by said new key.

In order that rotation of the ring 31 may be restricted, for the purposejust mentioned there is slidably mounted on the back portion f of thebody 'or casing of the look a hooked member 41, Figures 3, 4 and 5, thenose 48 of which may be caused'to enter an arcuate recess 49, Figure 9,in the ring 3?. In Figure 5 this member 41 is shown in broken lines inits normal position and in full lines with its nose 48 projecting intothe arcuate recess 49 in the ring 31.

The key 28 has been described above as if its wards were of the sameradial length throughout their axial depth, the operative edges of thewards may be stepped, however, in which event there will be provided foreach operative step a corresponding disc 36 with I its associatednotched ring 3'! and annulus 32, and each such additional association ofparts may be centred by a non-rotatable dividing member in the form of aapertured plate suitably mounted in the body or casing ef and formedaround its aperture with a flange corresponding with and serving thesame purpose as, the circular rib 39.

With this multiple arrangement both wards of a key may be brought intooperation, e. g.,

the first step of one ward and the next step of the other ward may beoperative, and so on; hence the combinations of operative steps of thewards is such that the number of keys in the range may be increasedenormously.

Similarly one or more circular ribs may be formed concentrically insidethe rib 39 in the recess 4|, necessitating corresponding notches in theend of the key 28, or concentric grooves may be formed in place of suchribs and the end of the key formed with projections, still furtherincreasing the number of keys.

I claim:

1. In a key operated look, at least one looking member formed of atleast two concentric parts normally rotatable as one in either directionby friction but capable of relative rotation when said friction isovercome, means for holding one of said parts to permit relativerotation of said concentric parts by said key, said looking memberhaving a circular portion concentric with its axis of rotation and ofsuch diameter that the longest ward of said key will not intersect it, abase having a corresponding circular raised portion adapted to engagewith said circular portion on said locking member as a bearing for therotation of said locking member, and the relative angular position ofsaid parts determining the angle through which said key must be rotatedafter its insertion into the lock and before it makes direct contactwith said locking member and brings the look into the unlocked position.

2. In a key operated look, a lock body at least one locking memberrotatable in said lock body about the same axis as the key of the lock,separate bearing surfaces in said lock body for said locking member andsaid key, said locking member comprising three concentric parts, onepart rotatable about the axis of said key normally insuring thatthe'other two parts rotate as one in either direction by friction, saidtwo parts being capable of relative rotation when said friction isovercome, and one of said parts being formed with spring fingers adaptedto hold said parts in spring pressed alignment, means for holding one ofsaid parts to permit relative rotation of said concentric parts by saidkey, the relative angular position of said two parts determining theangle through which said key must be turned after its insertion into thelock and before it makes direct contact with said locking member andbrings the lock into the unlocked position.

3. In a key operated look, a lock body at least one lockingmemberrotatable in said lock body about the same axis as the key of thelock, separate bearing surfaces in said lock body for said lockingmember and said key, said locking member comprising three concentricparts, one part rotatable about the axis of said key normally insuringthat the other two parts rotate as one in either direction by friction,said two parts being capable of relative rotation when said friction isovercome, one of said parts being formed with upset resilient tonguesarranged substantially circumferentially and adapted to hold said partsin spring pressed alignment, means for holding one of said parts topermit relative rotation of said concentric parts by said key, therelative angular position of said two parts determining the anglethrough which said key must be turned after its insertion into the lockand before it makes direct contact with said locking member and bringsthe look into the unlocked position.

4. In a key operated look, a lock body, at least.

one looking member rotatable in said lock body about the same axis asthe key of the lock, separate bearing surfaces in said lock body forsaid locking member and said key, said locking member being formed of atleast two concentric parts normally rotatable as one in either directionby friction but capable of relative rotation when said friction isovercome,'means for holding one of said parts to permit relativerotation of said concentric parts by said key, the relative angularposition of said parts determining the angle through which said key mustbe rotated after its insertion into the lock and before it makes directcontact with said locking member and brings the look into the unlockedposition, a further member coaxially aligned with said locking memberand formed with a keyhole the general plane of which is diametral, andwhich has a lateral projection at the center, said further member beingadapted to rotate as one with said key and having a notched periphery,and means for preventing rotation of said key except when the bolt is inthe latched position.

5. In a key operated lock, a lock body, a plurality of locking membersrotatable in said lock body about the same axis as the key of the lock,separate bearing surfaces in said lock body for said locking members andsaid key, a non-rotatable dividing member having a circular upsetportion of such diameter that the longest ward of the key will notintersect it, said dividing member separating at least one pair ofadjacent locking members, and serving as a bearing upon which one ofsaid pair of adjacent locking members may rotate, at least one lockingmember being formed of at least two concentric parts normally rotatableas one in either direction by;

friction but capable of relative rotation when said friction isovercome, means for holding one of said parts to permit relativerotation of said concentric parts by said key, the relative angularposition of said parts determining the angle through which said key mustbe rotated after its insertion into the lock and before it makes directcontact with said locking members and brings the lock into unlockedposition.

ERNEST NORBERT KENNEDY.

